Of students who have heard of Charles Nelson Reilly, most can probably only think of one word: scrumtralescent."" The Broadway talent and iconic star of campy 1970s television has the unfortunate burden of being best remembered by our generation for a parody of a James Lipton interview on ""Saturday Night Live.""
However, viewers of ""The Life of Reilly,"" a filming of the late star's one-man autobiographical stage show, will find there is far more to the man than giant glasses and the voice of King Llort in ""A Troll in Central Park."" In fact, you may feel a little guilty for laughing at his expense.
The film opens with a morbid gag - video footage of people vaguely remembering Reilly for his work on television, asking the cameraman, ""Isn't he dead?"" While Reilly passed away this past May, he seemed well aware that his persona in the public eye had faded much earlier. Reilly's stage show echoes the footage, one of many moments where he takes a jab at himself. These moments show the star's superb sense of humor, but also have a bittersweet quality once Reilly begins delving deeper into his past.
The documentary aspects of the film are minimal, giving Reilly a context of a star forgotten with occasional title cards linking segments of Reilly's life that he glosses over in the show. Anyone looking for a comprehensive look at the star's life will likely be disappointed. This is really a concert film - a taping of Reilly's final performance of his stage show - and serves more as a memoir.
Reilly walks through his entire life and career in the brisk 80-minute show, from his birth in the Bronx to his glory days when he was on television six or seven times a day - a fact the star knew from his compulsive readings of ""TV Guide"" looking for his name.
Reilly had a rough upbringing - a racist and oppressive mother, a downtrodden and alcoholic father, a lobotomized aunt and an uncle who had an active social life visiting strangers' funerals. All these characters were forced under one roof in New Haven, Conn. after Reilly's father lost the opportunity to be a poster artist for Walt Disney and had a nervous breakdown.
Reilly doesn't sugarcoat anything - he exposes audiences to the cold details of his life without humor beyond the charm exuded from the star.
Reilly's career is described in similar detail, with some great anecdotes of rubbing elbows with stars at various points in his career. Reilly went to school with Steve McQueen, Frank Langella, Jerry Stiller and other big names back when ""they couldn't act for shit."" Reilly's success on and off Broadway is not delivered pompously but as another sequence of events in his life. Despite the claims of vanity, Reilly tells his story as humbly as he is able, and at times sells his background as a more interesting story than his life on stage and on television.
""The Life of Reilly"" is a minimalist documentary frame for Charles Nelson Reilly's final appearance on stage. The stage show is insightful and funny, despite the depressing background of Reilly's life. If you've seen the SNL sketch, you must see this film simply to give Reilly his due as a real celebrity, not just a punch line.
